But as Anthony chatted briefly with USA TODAY Sports about Kobe Bryant's two-year, $48.5 million extension, he may as well have been speaking for the entire free agency class of 2014 when he made this not-so-surprising statement: Bryant's health and performance, rather than the size of his deal, likely will determine whether anyone of equal stature joins him this summer. When asked if free agents like himself would see Bryant as a star who is still worthy of joining in order to contend for a title, Anthony said, "I mean you'll have to see. It's hard to gauge at this point, not until he comes back (from his April Achilles tendon tear) and figures some things out. So I don't know. They might have some plans up their sleeve."

So what is the Lakers' long-term plan here?

Only they know, but it clearly was a priority to make sure Bryant didn't retire in a different jersey. In agreeing to this deal, the 35-year-old, five-time champion remained the league's highest paid player but took a pay cut that may still allow room for a player of Anthony's ilk to come to town and make his twilight years a whole lot more interesting.

If nothing else, locking up Bryant means the Lakers have one less thing to worry about when July rolls around. Had Bryant demanded the maximum-level salary, he would have been paid about $32.7 million in his first season of the extension rather than the $23.5 million that he will be paid. Or, to be more specific, he likely would have not struck a deal with the Lakers and wound up finishing his remarkable career elsewhere.

Coincidentally, his willingness to take a pay cut and their willingness to allow him to occupy approximately 40% of their salary cap leaves the Lakers with enough salary cap space this summer to potentially sign a player like Anthony (for just below his possible maximum salary) or, if he opts out of his deal as expected, the Miami Heat's LeBron James. They have Steve Nash, Robert Sacre and Nick Young (on a player option) on the books for next season, and their lengthy free agent list includes Pau Gasol, Steve Blake, Jordan Farmar, Jordan Hill, Chris Kaman, Xavier Henry and Jodie Meeks. Yet even if a premier player came Bryant's way, the prospect of filling out the roster with veteran's minimum deals and help on the relative cheap would be challenging, to say the least.

And as Anthony pointed out, the status of Bryant's game and his body will have everything to do with his ability to push for a sixth title. Bryant started practicing for the first time on Nov. 16, and it remains unclear when he'll return to the floor. The Lakers (7-7) play Tuesday at the Washington Wizards, Wednesday at the Brooklyn Nets and Friday at the Detroit Pistons before heading home to host the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. If Bryant isn't back by then, he'd potentially have four days of practice to finalize his recovery and possibly come back on Dec. 6 in a road game at the Sacramento Kings.

With all those miles logged (1,459 games played between the regular season and playoffs, plus international play), Bryant is facing an against-all-odds challenge whenever he returns. And the contract, which is so much pricier than those signed by some of his fellow future Hall of Famers at this stage of their respective careers (see Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett), puts even more pressure on him because it ensures that the pipe dream of having three superstars join forces with the Lakers is unofficially dead. Bryant, make no mistake, needs to be himself again when he comes back if he's ever going to return to relevance as a contender.

Knicks small forward Metta World Peace knows as well as anyone how badly Bryant wants to tie Michael Jordan when it comes to the ring count, having played alongside him with the Lakers the last four seasons. When he heard about Bryant's deal, he saw it as a sacrifice which he believes could keep the Lakers in contention.

"With (a max deal for Bryant), you wouldn't have had any room to give any (money) to anybody else," World Peace told USA TODAY Sports. "Him taking that little pay cut is going to help them get other players, which is very important, so it's good."

So, World Peace was asked, will the best of the best still see Bryant as a worthy co-star in the summertime?

Even Bryant can't know how this will end. One thing seems certain, though: More than 17 years after he came their way as part of a draft-night trade with the Charlotte Hornets, Bryant will retire with the Lakers. As for who he'll be playing with and the question of whether that team will be worth talking about, that much remains to be seen.

"I think (Bryant) wanted to get that done," Anthony told USA TODAY Sports. "Especially now, coming off that injury, that he wanted to solidify that (contract). I don't think he ever had any doubt of leaving the Lakers, so he got that done early…He wants to win. I want to win. Everybody in the league, we want to win, so I just figured he was going to get that done."

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Kobe Bryant has won five championships during his 20 storied years with the Los Angeles Lakers. Bryant announced in November that 2015-16 would be his final season. Take a look back at Bryant's surefire Hall of Fame career.
Derick E. Hingle, USA TODAY Sports

1996-97: Kobe averaged 7.6 points in his rookie season, coming off the bench behind Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel. At the time, he became the youngest player to ever play in an NBA game.
Michael Caulfield, AP

1999-2000: Under Phil Jackson, Kobe averaged 22.5 points and along with Shaquille O'Neal, led the Lakers to the NBA title, a six-game win over the Pacers, the team's first title since 1988.
Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sports

2012-13: Bryant finished his season sidelined with a torn Achilles tendon. But he averaged 27.3 points a game and helped the Lakers, ballyhooed in the offseason for adding Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, squeak into the playoffs.
Richard Mackson, USA TODAY Sports

2013-14: Bryant played only six games, missing the start of the season as his Achilles tendon tear from the past season healed, then injuring his knee a couple weeks after returning.
Kim Klement, USA TODAY Sports

2014-15: Though he played in just 35 games, Bryant hit a couple of milestones, including passing Michael Jordan for third on the all-time scoring list. However, Bryant suffered a torn rotator cuff in January and had to undergo season-ending surgery.
Brace Hemmelgarn, USA TODAY Sports